Wetangula urges President to take action against maize cartels

Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula has urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to take action against maize cartels who have contributed to the current maize scandal. Speaking in Kabuchai in Bungoma County, Wetangula said there are cartels who are behind the maize woes, adding that in Bungoma, unscrupulous traders took advantage and presented fake data to get payments.

He said payments have been made in the County in the past three weeks amounting to Kshs 563 million, “The traders made away with our money in this County. Farmers who went to the Bungoma NCPB said that there was a person who claimed to have tilled 800 acres of maize, how can one claim to produce on 800 acres?” he posed. “There was another who claimed to have tilled 640 acres, and another 350 acres…none of the farmers in Bungoma has more than 100 acres,” he added.

Wetangula said President Kenyatta must take action against the cartels. This follows sentiments by Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter on Thursday, who said Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri must resign if he can’t handle the pressure in the Ministry or unravel the existing cracks that have led to the payment of traders instead of certified farmers. He said the bad maize currently in the stores, more than 50% of the maize stored, was dumped by cartels who exchanged with good maize and the purported flour price increase is designed to create a fake artificial maize shortage to pave the way for more maize imports.